Recently diagnosed

[aimeeeeeee]

I'm 17 y/o and 2months ago I was diagnosed with bipolar,  schizophrenia and psychosis. I'm not really sure what exactly schizophrenia and psychosis are but I am taking lamotrigine as a mood stabilizer. I never really noticed my mood swings until they started getting more dramatic so I asked my mother for help.  I thought I would be getting better but I find myself getting extremely agitated and angry for minimal to no reason whatsoever. I've been feeling really sad with no motivation which I guess is being depressed?  And I don't know what to do. I get so frustrated with myself for being this way! My emotions are all over the place, I can't control them. I feel so helpless! .. anyone have any advice? I would really appreciate it!

[Anneinside]

Yes, a therapist is the same as a counselor. They may have different training and could be a social worker or psychologist....

[Jimmy86]

I also do the same making up stuff to I am on depokote as a mood stablizer and it works pretty good but everyone is different but I have been on a couple different meds and depokote seems to work the best and it is their job to listen and you cant get the right help if your not completely honest with them or yourself. Wish you the best and let me know how everythin goes from here on out I understand exactly what your going through I deal with it every day and things will eventrually will get better just give it time and you have to find the right meds for you

[schizofriendia]

Don't be afraid to tell them everything.  It's not like their job is to scrutinize everything you say and weigh it against whether you're lying or not.  It costs money to see them so of course they're going to listen to you because it's their job.  I believe therapists and counselors are the same in some cases.

[aimeeeeeee]

Honestly I feel like I'm living a lie, I find myself making up stories about myself or my past that were never true and I believe them . I wanted to tell my doctor this but I feel like I can't say everything in the fear of them thinking I'm making it up for attention because I'm not.

Instead of a therapist I was appointed to a counselor.. Is that the same?

[schizofriendia]

You were probably actually diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.  Schizophrenia with either major depression or bipolar disorder is schizoaffective disorder.  Psychosis is also just a symptom.  I have schizophrenia and it's hard to describe it in a concise manner because it can encompass your whole life and make it a living hell.

[thatquietgirl]

Psychosis is hallucinations, which can be auditory or visual in nature.  Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which reality is hard to distinguish from reality.  Such people are usually paranoid about a lot of things.  Google it to see the list of symptoms and see if it applies to you at all.

It will take some time for your moods to even out.  You may need to increase dosage of what you're on or add medications, but each doctor does that at a set pace so your body is not overwhelmed and things do not go beyond therapeutic levels into dangerous territory.  Just be patient!

If you are not in therapy, I would suggest beginning to see a therapist so you can learn coping mechanisms and what triggers your mood symptoms, etc.  This will help a great deal.  Medication helps, but alone, it's not the end all.  You need to have therapy and medication at this point to increase your chances of a healthy life.